Coast Guard medevacs crew member from Norwegian Star

The US Coast Guard performed a long-range medical evacuation from Norwegian Star today when it was 212 miles south of San Diego.

The 66-year-old man is a crew member aboard the NCL ship and was suffering from severe abdominal pain. A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from San Diego hoisted the man from the deck of the cruise ship while a HC-130 Hercules plane from Air Station Sacramento provided long-range coverage during the operation.

The man was flown to a hospital in La Jolla (CA) where he arrived at approximately 3pm local time on Friday afernoon. Medical care was provided to the man during the flight by the Coast Guard flight surgeon and the aircrew.

The raw video below from the Coast Guard provides a different perspective on medevacs than we normally get just reading about them.

Cirque Dreams Being Readied for Norwegian Epic

One of the most unusual experiences at sea will soon be the Cirque Dreams & Dinner aboard Norwegian Epic. NCL says the diner show "will be performed in the air, while juggling dinner courses, with music, mayhem and acrobatic imagination." This video give a peek at the preparations and what the show will be like.

Huge Waves Kill 2 Aboard Louis Majesty

The AP reports that three large waves struck Louis Cruises' Louis Majesty today breaking windows in the forward part of the ship and fatally injuring two passengers. Six others suffered minor injuries.

The cruise line terms the waves as "abnormally high" and estimates they measured up to 26 feet high. The incident occurred while the ship was off the coast of Marseilles while the ship was sailing from Barcelona to Genoa. Louis says the ship is returning to Barcelona.

The 41,000-ton vessel is the former Norwegian Majesty recently acquired by Louis.

Details to follow in today's edition of Cruise News Daily.

Caribbean Princess Bus Accident

Update Feb 23 - 5:30pm
A bus on Tortola carrying passengers from Caribbean Princess left the road this morning and rolled, killing one passenger and injuring several others of the 20 aboard. No other details of the cause of the accident are yet available.

The passenger killed was a 24-year-old man from Rochester, NY traveling with his parents. 

The rest of the passengers have now returned to the ship.

Updated information will be included in tonight's edition of Cruise News Daily.

Carnival Destiny to Unscheduled Drydock

Carnival Cruise Lines will cancel Carnival Destiny's February 13 (5-night) and February 18 (4-night) sailings to accommodate an unscheduled drydock necessary resolve a propulsion problem.

Three other cruises scheduled before the drydock will operate modified itineraries due to the necessarily slower cruising speed due to the propulsion problem. The January 30 (5-night) sailing will now call at Cozumel and Costa Maya instead of Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman. The February 4 (4-night) sailing will visit only Cozumel and cancel its Key West Call. The February 8 (5-night) sailing will replace the scheduled call at Grand Turk with a stop at Freeport, along with visits to Nassau and Half Moon Cay.